Boat-launching apparatus.



R. E. WOOD.

BOAT LAUNCHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21,1914.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

2 SHBETFSHEET 1.

ME NORRIS PETERS CO. PHOTILLITHQ. WASHINGTON. D. t:v

R. B. WOOD.

BOAT LAUNGHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 1914.

1,127,342. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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1H5 NORRIS PETERS .0v PHOIC LITHO wAsumomN I) c.

RICHARD E. WOOD, OF SOUTH NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

BOAT-LAUNCHING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

Application filed January 21, 1914. Serial No. 813,521.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD E. WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boat-Launching Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention provides an apparatus for quickly launching boats from a marine vessel.

The invention contemplates an apparatus and arrangement, controllable from a central station, as, for example, the pilot-house on a vessel, whereby the boats of a series, or of any number of series, in a time of emergency when quick action is necessary, may simultaneously be released from their chocks and lashings and caused to swing over the side of the vessel, Where they are in position for expeditious loading and lowering to the water. By the employment of an apparatus of the kind provided by the invention, the delays incident to getting boats off a vessel when boat-handling devices of the ordinary kind are used are avoided.

When read in connection with the description herein, the details of construction and arrangement of parts contemplated by the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein an apparatus for launching one series of small boats is disclosed, for purposes of illustration, as an example of the apparatus that may be used for launching any practicable number of boats in a series and as an example of one of a number of apparatus that may be used on a single vessel to accommodate and launch all the boats carried thereby.

While the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed and described now is considered a preferable one, it is to be understood that it is not the intention to be limited necessarily to this exemplification in all particulars in interpretation of claims hereinafter, as it is obvious that modifications within the scope of the claims can be made without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention. It is to be understood, also, that the several apparatus on a vessel may be released either individually or collectively from a single station or from a plurality of stations at any suitable places.

Like reference-characters refer to corresponding parts in the views of the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a side view; Fig. 2 is a plan view, the boats having been omitted from the chocks and shown by dotted lines in lowering position; Fig. 3 is an end view, a davit and boat being shown by dotted lines in lowering position; Fig. 4 is an end view, F 1g. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of a davit; Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus showing chocks in releasing position; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the holding and releasing parts of a lashing; and Fig. 8 is a view of a form of releasingtrigger.

Having more particular reference to the drawings, 9 designates a deck of a marine vessel, 10 the side thereof, and 11 small boats thereon. The boats are carried near the side of the vessel in normally upright chocks 12, which are pivotally supported on the deck by hinge members 13 in such mannor that they may be swung downwardly from under the boats to substantially horizontal position to release the boats. A rope, cable, chain, rod, or other suitable connection 14, for brevity and convenience hereinafter called a cable, is disposed at each side of the series of chocks, and it is connected pivotally to the chocks by eyes or other suitable fastenings 15 in the ends thereof. The connections of the chocks with the cable are at such relative distances apart that, when the cables are tightened and moved in one direction or the other, all the chocks will be swung simultaneously from or to boat-holding position, and that all chocks of the series at all times will be in the same position. Beyond each end of the series of chocks the cables converge together. At one end the converged cables are connected with a spring 16 secured to the deck, or to any other suitable tension member such as a weight-controlled device, which operates, when the cables at the other end are released, to swing the chocks, through the instrumentality of the cables, from upright boat-holding position down to releasing position. At the other end the converged cables are connected to a single cable 17, which leads to any suitably-located holding and releasing device. The cable 17, when hauled and held, will operate to swing the chocks to and to hold them in upright position against the drag of the tension device 16. An upright member 18 is secured to the deck adjacent to one of the chocks and in such position that it will stop the swinging movement of that chock, and thereby that of all the others of the series, when upright position is reached.

The invention contemplates the employment of any suitable means for maintaining the chocks in boat-holding position and for releasing them therefrom, and as examples of such means a manually operable device is shown in Fig. l and an electrically and manually operable device by Fig. 8.

In Fig. 1, the cable 17 is shown as led to a suitable station, such as the pilot-house, where it is connected to a lever 19, which is pivoted at 20 on a stanchion or bulkhead 21, and which is engageable with a stop 22 to hold the cable against movement under drag of the tension device at the other end of the series. To release the cable, the lever is swung away from the stop, and to return the chocks to upright position the lever is swung in the opposite direction to engagement with the stop, whereby the cable is hauled.

In Fig. 8, the 'cable 17 is shown as having a link or eye 23 thereon engaged and held by a trigger 2 1, which preferably is located near the end of the series of chocks. The trigger may be tripped to release the cable by striking its arm 25, which it might be necessary to do in case there had been delay in causing release from a control-station; or it may be tripped by movement of the arm 25 caused by energizing an electromagnet 26. When a trip device such as shown in Fig. 8 is used, the control-wires thereof preferably would communicate with a suitable switch or contact in the pilothouse of the vessel, and the wires of other similar mechanisms of the launching apparatus of other series of boats on the vessel also would communicate with the same place, where the arrangement could be such that all trip devices would be operable simultaneously or individually. When a trigger device is used, it is advisable to position near the end of the series of chocks a lever 27, which through the instrumentality of a lead 17 may be employed to haul the cable 17 against the action of the tension device and return the chocks to upright position, when the trigger would be returned to engagement with the eye or link on the cable. It is preferable that the lever not be provided with a restraining device, because, after return of the parts to normal position, it might be forgotten and unintentionally left in reverse-motion-preventing position and prevent release of the chocks when the trigger is tripped.

The boats are held normally on the chocks by lashing-ropes 28, which are disposed over the boats and led down to the deck.

Each of the lashing-ropes is secured by having an eye 29 on each end held between the limbs of a U-shaped member 30 on the deck by a pin 31 disposed through the eye and through holes in the limbs. Each of the pins 31 is connected with one of the cables 14 by a rope or other lead 32, and the arrangement is such that, when the cables 14 move in swinging the chocks to releasing position, all of the lashing-pins 31 will be withdrawn by the connections 32 from the members 30, which are secured to the deck, and the lashings of all boats of the series simultaneously released at the time of release of the boats from the chocks.

For the purpose of sustaining the weight of the boats at the lowering or releasing of the chocks, to cause the boats then to swing over the side of the vessel, and to support the boats while being lowered, for each boat there are provided two davits 33, one near each end of the boat, and one of which is described as typical of all of them.

As more clearly seen in Fig. 5, each davit is pivoted at its base or lower end so that it is capable of swinging to bring its upper end outboard of the vessel. The pivotal support may be a pin 34 or the like disposed through the davit and holding it between the limbs or arms of a bifurcated member 35, which latter is fixed in any suitable manner, for example as shown, on a stanchion 36 fixed in the vessel and extending above the deck, the stanchions being arranged in a line along and adjacent to the inner side of the series of boats. The upper end of the stanchion is turned or extends toward the davit as a stop 37. In order normally to hold the davit in upright position and to limit the outwardly-swinging movement thereof, an elongated'band or strap member 38 is disposed around both the stanchion and davit near the top of the stanchion, and it is held against displacement by pins 39 above and below it on the stanchion and by a pin 40 below it on the davit. The member 38 has therein an opening 41, in which normally is seated a key 42. The location of the opening is such that, when the davit is in upright position and the member 38 is drawn thereagainst, the key, upon being placed in the opening, will engage the opposite side of the stanchion and thereby retain the davit in normal position and against the stop 37 at the top of the stanchion. The relative arrangement and proportions of the parts are such that, the davit being in contact with the stop 37, the key will bind sufficiently in its seat to prevent its abnormal dislodgment. The key 42 is connected by a rope or other lead 43 to the cable 14 that is on the davit side of the series of chocks. All of the keys being so connected, when the cable moves in swinging the chocks to releasing position, they are withdrawn from the members 38 and the davits are permitted to swing to the outward limit of their movement as determined by the length of the members 38. Each member 38 is of such length that it will stop and hold its davit when the upper end thereof has reached a place where a boat depending therefrom will clear the side of the vessel when lowered.

The boats are connected to the upper ends of the davits by the usual lowering and hoisting tackle 44, it being preferable that releasing-hooks such as commonly used in the art be employed in connection therewith. The davits are so formed that, when they are in their normal or upright positions, their upper ends will have position toward the outboard of the vessel beyond the places of connection of the tackle to the boats, and the ropes of the tackle are drawn and held fairly taut. Thus, when the chocks are swung downwardly and the boats thereby released therefrom, the weight of the boats at once is imposed on the davits and the boats will swing outwardly. The keys 42 being withdrawn on release of the chocks, the davits then are free to swing outwardly, and such outwardly-swinging movement is imparted to them both by the weight and the swinging movement of the boats. The boats and davits move to the positions indicatcd by dotted lines in Fig. 3, Where they are clear of the side of the vessel and the boats are in suitable position for expeditious lmiding and lowering.

It will be seen that, upon release of the hold on the cable 17 in a manner previously described, the chocks will be swung to releasing position and the lashing-pins and davit-keys simultaneously withdrawn and the lashings and davits released, when the parts are free to and do move as described.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A boat-launching apparatus comprising chocks normally in boat-holding position and movable therefrom to release a boat thereon, an operative connection between said chocks, releasable means connected with said chockconnection whereby said chocks are held normally in holding position, a device connected with said chockconnection and operable to move said chocks from holding position upon release of said holding means, a swingable davit adjacent to said chocks and having thereon means for connection with a boat, a releasable member having a key holding said davit normally in upright position, a lead connecting said key and said chock-connection whereby said key is released upon movement of said chock-connection, a releasable lashing-retaining member having a release-pin, and a lead connecting said pin and said chock-connection whereby said pin is released upon movement of said chock-connection.

2. A boat-launching apparatus comprising the combination of a series of chocks pivotally mounted and swingable bodily laterally and downwardly, cables of which one is disposed at each side of the series of chocks and pivotally connected to the ends of the chocks, said cables converging together beyond each end of the series, a releasable device connected with said converged cables at one end and thereby holding said chocks normally in upright boatholding position, and a tension device connected with said converged cables at the other end and drawing thereon against said holding device and operating through the instrumentality of the cables on release of said holding device to swing said chocks laterally and downwardly to release a boat thereon.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD E. \VOOD.

\Vitnesses FERDINAND CHATENAY, J NO. M. ARNOLD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

